This blog is devoted to sharing my interest in and knowledge of the history and cluture of the ancient Near East.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Some Interesting Things from the Theban Tombs of Dynasty 18

Fig. 1 - The Litany of Re from the Tomb of Tuthmose III

A lecture by Emily Russo at the annual ARCE meetings highlighted some interesting facts relating to Theban tombs of the Eighteenth Dynasty. TT61 contained a
copy of the Litany of Re and had the same “unrolled Papyrus” decoration as the
tomb of Tuthmose III (see Figure 1 for an example of what this type of decoration looks like).

Some of these tombs also had copies
of some “spells” from the Pyramid Texts in them, including: TT82, TT87and TT85
(Pyramid Text #32).

What is most interesting about this is two fold: the Pyramid Texts are still in use centuries after the end of the Old Kingdom and some religious texts used by royalty in the
early New Kingdom were also in use in the tombs of the nobles (the Litany of Re
for instance). Many scholars have claimed that certain texts were "reserved for royalty" and only came into use by non-royalty over many years. But the Litany of Re is clearly used in both the tombs of 18th Dynasty kings as well as nearly contemporary noble men. These texts may not have been as "reserved for royalty" as we thought.

About Me

I have worked in the securities industry for more than thirty years and founded a consulting firm (ASJ International, Inc.) in the financial services industry in 2009. I also trade stocks and options.
I have a B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from City University of New York and have been studying the Ancient Near East for over 40 years. I was formerly the Secretary of the Egyptological Seminar of New York and have lectured there and at City University of New York. I can read Akkadian, Sumerian and Ancient Egyptian.